"For all hundred of you that passed the first phase of the Provisional License Exam, please watch this."

"It's the field..." Midoriya muttered.

"I wonder what's going to happen?" Ochaco's cheeks tinted a darker pink than usual as she looked at Midoriya, who stood by your side.

You nodded as you looked up to the massive screen, rubbing your sore wrist with your hand. Explosions caused the buildings and mountains in the arena collapse, making you and your classmates gape in disbelief.

"This will be the last phase of the exam. We will have you all perform rescue exercises as bystanders in this disaster site," the main examiner explained, his voice croaky. "We will assume that you have received your provisional licenses and test how well you can carry out suitable rescue procedures."

A quick image of Christmas Eve popped into your mind. The small child with the teal jacket sniffling in the alley as you lunged forwards to help him, only to be held back by no one other than Todoroki. You glanced behind you, still keeping away from him as he had asked you.

For a faint moment, his eyes flickered to you.

With your heart jolting in place, you froze on the spot. Unlike recently, Todoroki's expression bore the same anguish you had been witness to in the days leading up to the Sports Festival. As if he was teetering off the edge of losing his cool.

You gave him a concerned look as you mouthed 'you okay?'.

Of course he wasn't bloody okay. But you knew that he would say that he was if you asked. You couldn't stand him doing that to you. Even though he was trying to protect you, your heart sank at the unfairness of it all.

What's wrong, Sho?

Droplets of water fell from Todoroki's hair to the floor. If no one could tell and he just endured it, there was no problem, right? That's how he had always handled things. But you had to go ahead and keep pushing until this age-old mess began to boil over.

When he broke his steady eye contact with you, your eyes slowly trailed back to the screen. You bit the inside of your cheek, worried sick, yet tried to focus on the instructions as they droned on.

"Professional people-in-need-rescue?" you echoed, earning you an impressed look from Midoriya. Even though he had noticed the rising tension between you and Todoroki, you still didn't miss a beat.

The sleep-deprived man continued, "The people from the Help Us Company, otherwise known as H.U.C., are on standby at the site. We will now have you all carry out their rescue."

With that, you clenched your fist in front of you. Come on, (y/n). You've got this. All this time and training... I'll pass the exam, and then I'll work things out with Shoto. You thought, though it was easier said than done, and it left such a bitter aftertaste of dread.

---

Bakugo scoffed at the thought of the entrance exam. "Only a dumbass like her would get their fuckin' points deducted for being too damn keen to help people."

"You're the one to talk, bro. Why did you need to shout at the civilians to help themselves up?" Kirishima hurried behind his explosive best friend, not without stealing a glance at you as you headed in the opposite direction of them.

Nearby, the number ten pro hero, Gang Orca, neared the centre of the arena, the wind ruffling his pink tie.

You shuddered as you noted that his ranking as the number three hero who looked like a villain was justified. Though this role suited him a little too well, you reckoned that you couldn't judge him solely on his appearance. His quirk was the main issue, and it would make it even harder to beat him.

As you lost sight of your classmates, you rushed to help an elderly lady lying in the rubble. After you assisted her up and offered to carry her, a chilling realisation sank in, due to the mountain of dust lifting in front of you--

Gang Orca cleared his throat. "Tell me, wannabe heroes, can you rescue civilians at the same time as you fight villains off?"

--The first aid station was under attack.

"Terrorists have appeared at the scene, and are beginning the ambush. Hero candidates need to decide on who will continue the rescue efforts, and who will suppress the villains."

You stopped running and pushed the H.U.C. actress further up your back, suddenly uneasy as you became aware of the burden her weight would be if you got involved in the fight.

She jabbed her bony finger in your back to get your attention, continuing with her assessment. "Hero, shall I remain here? I would rather not get hurt if you are planning on taking me to the first aid station."

"Ma'am," you said, turning your head so she could see your determined face. "I can't just abandon you here to go and fight. I'll get you to safety. I promise."

The lady nodded as she tightened her grip on you. No points deducted this time.

However, after the ground you were standing on shook, you spotted Shindo - a tall, muscular teen with shaggy, unruly dark hair - merciless before Gang Orca.

Conflicted as to what you should do, you secured the lady on your back using your capturing weapon and gave her a quick warning before you rushed in. But a wall of fire and ice made you stop right on your tracks, and you let out a startled shriek.

Midoriya caught up to you and shouted, "Todoroki!"

You looked over to the half-and-half boy, a wave of relief washing over you, though you hadn't managed to talk things over with with him yet.

Without hesitating, Todoroki activated his quirk and threw a mighty mass of ice, which was swiftly destroyed by his adversary, Gang Orca, with a sonar blast.

Through the deafening noise, Todoroki addressed you, "Get the civilians out of here, (y/n). I won't let up, and your quirk won't be of much use if you can't get close enough to Gang Orca anyway."

"Yeah, will do! But I'll come back soon as I get the chance because I can't just sit and watch."

Though Todoroki nodded in understanding, a strong gust of wind made him look up to the sky. After spotting Inasa Yoarashi flying in the air, Todoroki paid him no mind and sent another ice wall at Gang Orca.

Yet, Inasa aimed his mechanical gauntlets towards the Pro Hero as he swore to blow him away, soon shattering Todoroki's ice wall.

You bent your knees to withstand the wind, not without noticing how Todoroki rolled his eyes at the reckless boy.

As you pushed the lady further up your back with care, you wondered if it would have been better if you stayed here and supported Todoroki. Nevertheless, you had to accept that although this short exchange with him evidenced some progress, it had been nothing but business-like. He probably still wanted you to stay away from him.

You dashed away from the action towards a safe place, unaware that you wouldn't be able to come back and stop Todoroki from losing control of his emotions, and ultimately fail the exam.

But you had already made your decision, and so would have to bear that regret later on that day.

---

After passing the exam, you sat on a nearby bench away from the crowd of students, undid your ponytail and shook out your hair. You had waited for long enough to check that Todoroki had read your note, so you were hoping he would meet you here once he finished talking to Endeavor.

Though you felt someone's presence in front of you, you were taken aback as a notebook and a pen were thrust into your range of vision.

You glanced up at the blue-haired boy, furrowing your eyebrows. "Aoi, what are you still doing here?"

"Seriously, are you going to make me say it?" A fat sweatdrop trickled down his tanned cheek. "An autograph."

"From me?"

"No, from the bench. Can you not make it more embarrassing than it already is?"

Just when you were going to ask if it was for him, a short boy who wore a starfish-shaped hairpin on his cobalt hair froze right in front of you. The boy, who couldn't be older than ten, blew out his cheeks in disbelief as he scanned you up and down.

A wide smile parted his lips. "Brother, no way! It's her! Vita!"

"Nagisa, aren't you meant to be in school right now?" Aoi put his hands behind his head, not without grudging the fact that you were his brother's object of adoration.

The boy shook his hand in dismissal as he said in a sing-song voice, "We were let out early early today!"

You stared down the notebook and the pen which Aoi had placed on your lap. As much as you disliked Aoi, you couldn't refuse to give his little brother an autograph, especially as he had come all the way here to meet you.

"So, it's Nagisa, yeah?" You called his attention with a gentle voice reserved for children. "What would you like me to write?"

Nagisa's eyes were saucers by this point. Aoi had always told him that you were tough as nails, so the happiness and admiration that overwhelmed him had no match to when he saw you on T.V. for the Sports Festival.

Nagisa toyed with a lock of his hair. "Uhmm... Anything, anything you usually write, Vita! I'll treasure it for when you become a Pro Hero."

"Actually, this is the first autograph I ever give out." You smiled as you swung your legs under the bench before taking the lid off the pen. "I'll make it a good one."

---

Still beating himself up over having just failed the Provisional Licensing Exam, it took Todoroki every ounce of self-control to stop himself from pinning you against the brick wall. Even with that turmoil of dark emotions running wild in his chest, he knew he ought to respect your boundaries. "You've told me that I don't need to change for you before. But you do need me too, don't you?"

"I just want to mend this thing we..." You trailed as Todoroki loomed closer to you. A shiver ran down your spine at the sight of his scowl.

"(y/n)," he huffed, even though he tried to keep his composure. "If you think you can fix me, mend me or whatever you want to call it, then, well, you should know that that's not possible. And it makes me feel like a fool, like you think you're with someone you've constructed in your head, not me."

No, don't say that, Sho. It's not true. You bit your tongue to prevent yourself from spitting out something that would hurt him. As you looked up to him, his glare froze you.

"I'm not some pity case you have to look down upon," he said, in a soft-spoken tone which only made it all the more alarming. "Just stop it. Whenever you act like this... it makes me feel like I am good enough for you."

"I don't think that way at all." The hot tear that slid down your cheek ignored the fact that you didn't want to cry in front of him. You sniffled, but roughly wiped your eyes with your sleeve. "Sho, all I was trying to do is for you to talk to me again. I'd like to know what goes through your head, but you can't expect me to understand you if you don't explain yourself."

"You know I don't use my words lightly. I only say what needs to be said. And I told you to stop it." Todoroki jerked his head in the direction of the rest of your classmates and students from other schools, who were far too busy chatting about the outcome of the exam to notice that both of you had gone off on your own.

Your (e/c) eyes widened in shock. You didn't even know what to say, do, or believe while you shook your head sideways slowly.

"I think it'd be best if you left me alone for now." Grimacing, Todoroki turned around to prevent himself from running his mouth again.

"Wait!" You reached out for him, tugging the dark blue jacket of his hero costume. Yet your mouth was dry, and you struggled to muster any coherent sentence as the lump in your throat became more painful. "Please," you muttered.

Todoroki straightened his spine at your touch, your hands trembling as you held on to him. He swallowed, hard. He didn't deserve your forgiveness. No, he didn't even deserve you, he told himself.

As he grit his teeth, he took a step forward, away from you. Had he stayed there for another second, he would not have been able to live with himself and the guilt of breaking his promise to you; that he would never make you suffer as his mother did.

Blinking away the stubborn tears, the sting of rejection pierced your chest. Even more than when Aoi had trapped you in that prison of a seawater bubble, you felt like you were drowning. As if the dear lifeline both of you held onto had snapped under pressure.

---

Even though Chiharu had to finish making a dress for tomorrow as one of her assignments, she decided she would meet you outside U.A. to see if she could help you.

Chiharu put her phone into her back pocket as her coral eyes brightened. "I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to call me, (y/n). Like, you've been in the receiving end of me kicking up a fuss about Aoi lots of times, so this is the least I could do."

"About that..." You rubbed your shoulder. "Chi, don't take me wrong, but it's a bit different. I tried to get him to talk to me before today, but he wouldn't. I'm so useless I couldn't figure out what was going on sooner."

"Ah, don't say that, (y/n)!" Chiharu bounced on her toes as she neared you. "Literally, your brain listens to everything you say, so you can't tell yourself that you're useless unless that's what you want to become."

"It's all gone to shit because of me."

The strawberry-blonde girl let out a slight squeak. You didn't usually swear, so she knew that something had gone very wrong. "Please, please, please, have a little self-compassion. Look where you are, look how far you've come." She motioned to the impressive, high U.A. buildings on your left.

"Maybe," you mumbled, crestfallen.

She swayed on her feet as she thought of a way to cheer you up. "And Todoroki... I'm sure you can work it out. You two just need to talk things through and then have a heated post-fight make-out session. I'm sure that'll work."

"We've never had something like that because most times Shoto's really polite and respectful and..." Your back stiffened. "Why am I even telling you this? And how do you know it works?"

Chiharu's signature cheeky grin broke on her lips, but she still trod with caution. "You see, there's this blue boy who likes to call himself a 'merman king.' Oh, yeah you hate his guts, too. Be my guest to guess."

Your nose wrinkled at the thought of your friend making out with Aoi. "I don't know what you see in him."

"That's because you only have eyes for Todoroki. And because Aoi fancied you the moment he saw you." She scratched her chin as if she had a beard. "And do I need a reason? We're literally just... pulled towards each other. Our souls have the same frequency."

"Chi, I think you should lay off horoscopes."

"I know, but they are what keeps me going every day! Like the true Leo I am, I will try and find that silver lining. And for the love of pleated skirts, you saw Aoi's little brother at the Provisional Licensing exam, right? Aoi didn't make that up?"

"Yeah, I did." With a serious look in your (e/c) eyes, and hoping to change the subject, you pressed your lips into a line. "But Chi, I don't think that's fair. What did pleated skirts ever do to you?"

Chiharu sent you an incredulous look before high-pitched laughter erupted from her. She jumped towards you and threw her arms around your neck.

Though surprised at first, you returned your Chiharu's tight embrace, finding that haven you so much missed. While you had made some genuine friendships at U.A., nothing could match having your childhood friend supporting you, especially as you knew there was no risk of her spilling any of your secrets to the rest of your classmates.

The scent of sakura blossoms wafted from her as she tightened her grip on you. "(y/n), jokes aside..." She rested her chin on your shoulder carefully. "Not everyone carries a tragedy, and even if they did, that literally doesn't excuse them."

---

After Chiharu left, you wandered the forest at the U.A. grounds until you made it to the top of one of the small hills. You pursed your lips and took a sharp breath in. Devastated with everything that had happened today with Todoroki, you wished you could disappear.

Though you soon regretted thinking that way about vanishing out of the blue. You hugged yourself to try to stop those unanswered questions about your uncle from seeping back into your mind. Had Daiki angered the people he was working for? Why would he get involved with the Yakuza? Was he even alive?

The wind blew past you in steady gusts, your bare feet paling due to the cold dew on the grass. As the trees' leaves ruffled with the chilly breeze, it occurred to you that the paper mache world that you accepted as real was only a stage setting. Much like Todoroki's brooding silence, when you held back your tears in front of him, you concealed a vulnerable part of yourself.

Perhaps, if you had dragged yourself back to the dorms, you could have curled into a ball and cried yourself to sleep on your own. But you knew that the presence you felt could only belong to a person you held very close to your heart.

As you looked over your shoulder, both his and your eyes met briefly.

Todoroki tilted his head, his hair falling to the side of his face. Pensive, he averted his gaze from you, with a sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach. His heterochromatic eyes had such an apologetic air that you thought he would break up with you there and then.